XeroxCool

@XeroxCool@lemmy.world

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Do sunrise and sunset objectively look different or do they just feel different?⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago⁩:

  In my experience as someone who rarely gets up for sunrise, they are not really different. I’m sure there is variation caused by rising vs diving temperature, humidity, cloud patterns caused directly by solar radiation, etc. But, functionally, pretty similar. And no, pollution does not make sunsets prettier. (will explain below)

  The main difference is my perception and my ability to predict what comes next. When the sun is setting, I have lots of warning because I can see the sun, obviously. With my spot at the beach, I can watch the sun go all the way down. I know exactly when it disappears and then I watch it a little while longer as the oranges turn even redder. I’m coming from my daytime perception of color and staring at the sun, further delaying my dark adaptation.

  Sunrise, on the other hand, is more of a surprise. The sky colors are morphing, but I can’t quite tell when the sun will pop up. I’m in relative darkness so my color perception is different. Last one I watched I had my star app open to better predict the sun’s appearance and it made it feel a little more like the sunsets I watch at the same spot. As the reds and oranges fade, I continue to normalize the white balance, so to speak, so it seems like a faster event as it approaches normal daylight color.

  Pollution. No, those pretty, dramatic sunsets are not caused by pollution. That’s a myth you can look up, so here’s my observations of why we perceive it as truth. I’ve spent a week at a time a few times a year for a decade watching just about every sunset on an ocean-like horizon over the rest of my country. The sun is creating a massive, flat rainbow of color. The reds get pulled down towards earth due to refraction in the atmosphere than the blue end. On cloudless evenings, the sky, being a poor reflector, turns a sort of yellow-orange hue while the sun itself is the only thing visibly turning red. That flat rainbow array still exists every time, but it’s lost to space as it skims the atmosphere without hitting anything more solid. Think of the classic prism refraction rainbow being projected tangentially onto a basketball. But, if there’s some spotty cloud cover between you and 1000 miles west, that rainbow will be blocked and reflected by some clouds instead of flying miles overhead and missing you. Just about all pretty sunset photos have clouds. The solid orange and Orange-yellow portion of the rainbow will be bouncing off the clouds in a patch of sky that still looks blue or pale white. That’s where the drama comes from.

  I’d also add sunsets blocked at the final stages by very distant cloud banks have made what seem to be the reddest finales I’ve ever seen, a few minutes after sunset, because the light is still being refracted, reflected, and refracted again from even lower than before. I never pack up and go in for these, unlike most people at the beach. On the opposite end, I don’t mind the boring cloudless sunsets because it means I’ll have at least a few hours of clear night skies most times. Stargazing is what I’m really there for.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨The cost of college in USA makes no sense anymore⁩ ⁨⁨4⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago⁩:

  Only the last-qualified legacy students pay that for Ivy leagues. The other 90% are majorly covered by scholarships funded by shaking down alumni.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨If you're not attracted to anyone "in your league", but you cannot choose who you are attracted to, then what are you supposed to do?⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago⁩:

  I’m only vaguely with the concept, but have you looked into asexualism? It sounds to me more like a generally low sex drive as opposed to only liking the most beautiful 0.01% on the planet.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨If you're not attracted to anyone "in your league", but you cannot choose who you are attracted to, then what are you supposed to do?⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago⁩:

  Do you feel lust and sexual attraction to these super models?

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨If you're not attracted to anyone "in your league", but you cannot choose who you are attracted to, then what are you supposed to do?⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago⁩:

  Super models aren’t somehow wired to only like other super models. A person’s outwards looks don’t tell you what they find attractive. When you see gorgeous celebrity couples, they’re only getting that coverage because they’re both gorgeous (Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt). Some remaining romance coverage goes towards couples where one is gorgeous and the other is talented/accomplished (Aubrey Plaza and Jeff Baena). The other 99% of couples don’t get any media attention because it’s not fun to talk about #4 sexiest woman of 2021 and her husband, extra #4.

  It’s completely normal to be attracted to super models. They are literally chosen as excellent candidates for conventionally attractive builds and then dolled up to close the gap on perfection. Keep in mind, you’re probably ignoring a huge swath of models that aren’t your flavor of perfection as that varies between cultures and ethnicities. What you can hopefully realize is those perfect images have a ton of work done to the “base” person by makeup, lighting, camera angle, and photoshop. They’re generally not real. Such gorgeous celebrities are so far from their perfected image that they often go unrecognized in public if not for some unique visual trait. Even just having an unfamiliar accent makes people doubt the identity.

  You want a real shock (assuming you’re a straight male)? Look up your favorite porn stars without makeup. The picture is out there.

  You don’t need to change your lust for super models, just hopefully come to realize they’re a fantasy. And more than anything, those perfect 21 year old looks won’t last. They may be perfect for 30 or perfect for 40, but not for 21. And that’s OK. Your opinion will change as you age yourself. 8th grade me though high schoolers were adults. Now I don’t even want to be seen with the babies called “college students”.

  You never know who will walk into your life. You’ll never know what they’re thinking.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Can I wear hardware o rings with my 4g piercing?⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago⁩:

  Aw man, it was good info about metals and the likely inclusion of nickel at the hardware store

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Can I wear hardware o rings with my 4g piercing?⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago⁩:

  For anyone confused, just gonna point out OP asked about rubber o-rings from the hardware store, not metal hardware

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Can astronauts jerk off or toss the troff in space? Would their heart monitors would show it to be elevated? Or can or has any two astronauts ever had sex in space?⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago⁩:

  I’m amused by the use of “automatically” when I’ve always heard it in my terrestrial life as “involuntarily”. Changes the implication in a positive way, I’d say. Involuntary means you can’t stop it. Automatic means it’s supposed to happen.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Who benefits from the "14 Min Read" estimates popping everywhere?⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago⁩:

  Exactly this. I don’t have time to read a 10+ minute article during this hour of shit post scrolling

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Sony is working on Horizon Zero Dawn and Helldivers 2 movies⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago⁩:

  I beleive it was a complaint about those 3 actors. “it’s almost the least interesting thing, scoring higher than only these 3 features”

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Sony is working on Horizon Zero Dawn and Helldivers 2 movies⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago⁩:

  TIL who Aaron Taylor-Johnson is and that he’s continuing the tradition of having two Marvel characters

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨What's the greatest joy you have gotten from a video game?⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago⁩:

  Ace Combat 4 and 5 both made me feel awesome, then sad, then vengeful, and then awesome in their campaigns. They start as casual arcade styles, throw in some grief, grow the antagonists’ justification, then the skies start speaking Latin and you systematically destroy some megabase. I was fairly young, so now sad Spanish guitar riffs cause me grief when thinking about Yellow 4 and 13. Is that joy? The memory of a fairly casual arcade game weaving in a heartfelt tragic war story?

  At risk of making this my only personality trait, Far Cry 2’s desert at night was a treat for me. I seek out similar experiences in real life now. It didn’t necessarily create that desire, but it was my first open world game, if I remember correctly. It didn’t make me jump for joy, it just made me feel serene.

  I’m sure it was driven by the memes, but Portal 1 gave me a great sense of accomplishment. It was mild reaction skill with some decent logic puzzles. The build up, the turn, the fight, the final song. Quite a trip.

  Overall most joy might go to Forza Horizon 1. First open world Forza title, first (for me?) open world racing game with decent driving mechanics, excellent variety of cars, hit me at my peak interest in house music and other EDM, showed me Colorado scenery I’d see IRL 10 years later, and the campaign was focused around the Woodstock of a [cars X EDM] festival. I wish that was real and I wish the scene would be respectful. But, unfortunately, you can’t control 300 drivers and prevent them from one-upping each other and making it dangerous and disrespectful. And you gotta pay for parking everywhere nice. See: waterfest, ocean city Maryland.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨What's the greatest joy you have gotten from a video game?⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago⁩:

  Far Cry 2 brought me joy experiencing the open world format. I fell in love with the desert at night there and now I try to visit real life arid regions at night.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Day 173 of posting a Daily Screenshot from the games I’ve been playing until I forget to post Screenshots⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago⁩:

  FC5 didn’t have towers and FC6, as far as I know, has a single tower that makes a joke about it. I don’t beleive AC Odyssey had those towers, either. Can’t remember Origins. The tower mechanic was also only used to visualize parts of the map, sometimes with a unique goody at the top. It’s back to foot-based map discovery. The busy work here is talking about all the bullshit collectibles and similar scavenger mini quests. AC is full of chests and AC4 had some cave clearing missions and deep sea dive puzzles. You have to go to certain locations or complete a certain number of collectibles to unlock some equipment rather than relying on the campaign alone. 20 hours of story, 100 hours of fetch.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Day 173 of posting a Daily Screenshot from the games I’ve been playing until I forget to post Screenshots⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  I’ve played this for the first time on and off over the last couple years. This looks the same as my Xbox One playing the One digital version.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Netflix bad... Shocker, I know⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  I feel like a detail got added and then missed. “Have you tried a TV” means using a TV as a display. The reply jumped to Smart TV with the Netflix app.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨[deleted]⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Welcome to the 1950s. They used quotes to make it clear it was the pictured character saying that. They also standardized using quotes to identify the motto on businesses and trucks. The SomeECards meme format is a caricature of that.

  Bill’s Burgers “We serve pleasure”

  Jack’s towing “Reliable hookers”

  Manny’s Milk “We’ll deliver that white cream that puts a smile on your wife’s face”

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨I need a flicker free LED lightbulb running in the 3000 K range.⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  How do you think that’s any different than using a 120VAC fixture?

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨How many games do you manage to play at the same time?⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  30s, New homeowner, wife, house needs repair, cars need repair, wallet needs repair, someone has to cook, full work week, 90 minutes spent on commuting. No kids or pets, but I feel we might have similar availability. And I’m always wondering the same because I’ll never have the time to play like I did as a teen. But, here’s what I have. PC and Xbox.

  I generally play one story game at a time. I’ll play for a couple weeks or couple months. I just try to make progress and enjoy it for what it is, not set any goals. How would I know how much time I need anyway? Could be anywhere from 30 minutes to 3 hours per session. Something like Far Cry, Assassin’s Creed, Tomb Raider(don’t worry, I have bigger triggers next). I’m hoping this month I “finally get around” to Fallout 3, NV, or 4.

  I have other options, though, depending on immediate time availability. Some borderline storyless games (maybe with cosmetic reward progression) for the shortest of times or highest of mental fatigue (forza horizon, fortnite, rocket league, ace combat, borderlands). My two slow burn games are Valheim and Elite Dangerous. They both take probably an hour to get up to speed if I’ve been out of it for a few weeks, but I’ll be good for a week between sessions after that. I’ll sink 2+ hours per session into those. Regarding remembering controls, ED amuses me because I use an Xbox controller to play. Every button is mapped and there’s a combo for every (ABXY) + (D-pad or bumpers). 14 buttons and 24 combos. Putting the controller in my hand unlocks subconscious memory of most of them. Even in other games where crouch and jump are shuffled around, it only takes a couple mistakes for me to remember.

  It’s not an impressive list, but I try to not beat myself up over it. I’m busy, I’m tired. I stopped being elitist about the Epic and Ubisoft bullshit because I don’t have time to waste giving a fuck. There’s 100 better similar games but this is what I’m doing. I’m sitting down for a good time, not a long time.

  Another aspect I had to reexamine was my notion of productivity, progression, and entertainment. Did gaming fulfill a fantasy version of real “campaign” progression? Does the building and repair I do in real life actually contribute to the same feeling of accomplishment as beating a game? Does socializing in real life fulfill that need for story progression? So far… Yes. Mostly. The fantasy game version definitely looks cooler.

  Only other comment is about not choosing a title. I wouldn’t play a game I started because I needed to play a newer game before I was left behind. I think it’s been 2 years since I last bought a game. I can’t keep up. I can’t finish what I have. So I more or less decided to work through my library for now. It’s hard to get over the fomo of skipping titles or being multiple titles behind in a series. But so what? I have hyped games from 2015. I have hyped games from 2020. And from 2010. And from 2005. I’m missing newer games hyped in 2023. But in 2026, there will still be hyped games. And 2030. And 2035. I don’t have the time for every title. So I’ll see what’s out when I have room again. For now, it’s just about 4 story game so cycle through. Doesn’t really help you decide, but maybe makes it easier to avoid not deciding.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Why is it that clasped hands tends to be the norm for praying? 🙏⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  I vaguely remember, as a kid, older people would sometimes pray with open, upwards palms extended forward from the elbow. Catholic school said something like it was acceptable, but school and peer pressure made me feel like anything other than flat, clasped hands were illegal. No woven finger fistballs, either. But this is anecdotal from 30 years ago in one particular region.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨What games have you sunk the most time into?⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  The Thargoid war seemed pretty exciting. I did some ground-based ship battles and was decent at it, but I couldn’t commit the time for a space battle, for a titan battle, or for a foot battle. I can’t say I want to walk around my ship, but I’d take it if it meant a more realistic transition between ship and foot, though. I still pop in for quick pirate hunting at nav beacons. I’m always getting fomo about the latest credit farms but have given up on owning a carrier. I appreciate the bio exploration as an expansion on long distance exploration since the payout is comparable to casual combat, at least.

  But yeah, ultimately, it’s a fairly empty game. Lots of space, little variation. Obviously I enjoyed it enough to put 1000 hours into. No regrets there. But I was very into the lore and community stuff so it was as much roleplay as it was gameplay

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Would "suggest price" be a positive option for steam?⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  I’m guilty of this. So many times, I’ll see something at full price and say I’ll wait to buy it on sale. Then it goes on sale and I don’t feel like spending the money at all. Granted, I’m not trying to sway the market and screaming my bid, this is just my internal monologue. I have a backlog of games and a busy adult life, so it’s not like I’m game-poor. Just regular poor.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨What games have you sunk the most time into?⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  About 1000 hours in Elite:Dangerous, my most-played Steam game. Kinda bums me out that it was all 2020-2022 gameplay for the first 900 hours but I haven’t had time to get back into.

  Valheim continues it’s slow burn at about 400 hours since 2020.

  No times on Xbox games, at least not from the OS. Fortnite has probably become my top game there. Whatever. It’s not just for my entertainment. Assassin’s Creed Odyssey I think had somewhere over 200 hours in the save file time. I’d love to know how many hours I put into Forza Motorsports 4 when custom paint schemes was a technological feat. Ace Combat 4/5/7 also have a ton of replays for me since the bonus medals are so tangible. Far Cry 2 doesn’t have a ton of hours, but I was definitely infatuated with it circa 2010. That night time desert still calls to me

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Tired of hearing about “The offshore team”⁩ ⁨⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  What are you seeing that I’m not seeing to the same degree? We’re talking about subconscious biases here. I am aware the one city I visited does not represent a whole country, but being a large city, likely has significant representation in extranational communities. I do not assume a particular vehicle has a particular driver. All I assume is when someone drives unpredictably in sight (in comparison to the rest of the driving culture present), they’ll be just as unpredictable when I’m near them. Like, I’m trying to keep growing here and try to talk about why racial stereotypes often “feel” correct. I don’t see it as any different than judging your own race from a different region - for me, that’d be rude NYC people vs slow southerners or optimistic coastal Californians. I’m only talking about mannerisms that unintentionally get construed as racial.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Tired of hearing about “The offshore team”⁩ ⁨⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  It sounds like one of the items you’re getting at may be separating nationality/ethnicity stereotypes from race stereotypes. Immigrants or children born in another country will have varying degrees of that cultural as part of their personality. Bartering comes to mind with Indians.

  One I experienced recently was Hispanic drivers. We have a fairly large Mexican population here but I obviously can’t tell by appearance. There’s a certain combo of vehicle, modifications, and asshole driving style that would indicate to me the driver was probably hispanic. I took a trip a manufacturing Mexican city (read:non-Resort) and was shocked by the drivers. I saw the wildest maneuvers to get 2 cars ahead, every peice of pavement was valid for driving, and speeding is only avoided at checkpoints. Yet, I didn’t see any accidents, I didn’t hear any horns, I didn’t see any road rage. It was aggressive driving, but everyone just existed and cooperated. Obviously, if you’re the only one doing it, it makes you unpredictable and therefore it’s reckless, but damn, that adjusted my opinion so fast

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨My recent experiences with big budget AAA after years of avoidance⁩ ⁨⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  I don’t have time to be rushed like that. If anyone needs me between now and January 3rd, I’ll be parked in the deserts of Far Cry 2 at night with my buggy ignoring whatever petty need you have to admire the dark serenity and distant zebra yelps.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨how do I become the dullest, most boring coworker so this needy man leaves me alone?⁩ ⁨⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  He’ll probably be mad, he might try to kill her. The odds of violence after social disagreements are slightly worse for women so most try to avoid being the 1 in 1 million today.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨This seat reservation doesn't reserve any seats⁩ ⁨⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Everyone crams to the front to get there faster?

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨[deleted]⁩ ⁨⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Because it’s pretty common to turn an obvious statement into a question to make a point to the person asking?

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨how do I become the dullest, most boring coworker so this needy man leaves me alone?⁩ ⁨⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Or he’s under the belief all women live to serve men cute little fascinations in their mundane lives. That they exist to smile, sound angelic, giggle, and put a hand on their arms in normal conversation. Based on an attraction thing, but not necessarily targeted at OP.